Will and the Enderman
by Dwarven Runes
Summary: Will runs into an enderman, and other things too.
1. What in the world?

**Welcome, readers! Dwarven Runes does NOT own ****_Ranger's Apprentice_**** or Minecraft. Just letting you know.**

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><p>Will had the sense that he was being watched. This feeling had been slowly creeping up on him for the past few hours. Tug had been giving him signals since early this morning. Yet, when he used the techniques he'd been taught to catch followers unaware, he caught no glimpse of anyone, nor anything. It was unsettling, but as long as he was in this mess of a forest, there was nothing he could do about it. So he rode on, wary for any sudden movements or attacks. He knew there was a large clearing up ahead, and it was not too far from where he was. His plan was to ride into the middle of the clearing, look around, and see if he couldn't catch anyone. After a few tense moments, he reached the clearing and cantered to its center. He stopped suddenly, and turned around sharply. No. There was no one. Frowning, he turned back. He spent a few minutes analyzing sounds, and was about to urge Tug on when he heard the strangest sound. Tug made another signal. "I know, boy," Will said soothingly, or a soothingly as he could manage. He looked around quickly. He still couldn't see anything. He shrugged nonchalantly and tapped his heel to Tug's side. "Let's get going." He was almost to the edge of the clearing when he heard it again. That strange poofing sound. Will swiveled around in the saddle as quickly as he could. It had come from behind him. The source of the sound stood in the center of the clearing, staring at him with large purple eyes. Their eyes met. Will's widened. The tall black creature's jaw dropped. They stared at each other, and the creature began to make a different sound, one that sent chills down Will's spine. It was a creaking sound, a terrifying noise. The creature kept staring and staring. Will's eyes got wider and wider, and his mouth got dry. It occurred to him that perhaps he should run. The wisdom of this idea was evidently shared with Tug, as after a mere two seconds of the terrible creaking, Tug bunched his muscles and sprinted away like a bat out of hell. Will kept staring at the strange creature in the clearing. Just before the clearing was out of sight, and the creature with it, Will saw a glowing blue streak hurtle into the clearing, knocking the monster down. As he watched, it became clear the streak was a person. The figure turned and waved jauntily at Will before being smacked across the clearing. Unperturbed, the person sprang forward to swipe at the monster with a... was that a glowing blue sword? The black creature screeched and disappeared, reappearing behind its attacker. There. That was the poof sound. That creature was going poof. And teleporting.<p>

...this was just too strange. Will continued to watch the battle in a dreamlike state, scarcely paying attention to his surroundings.  
>So when Tug ran through a series of low-lying branches, it really wasn't Will's fault that he was knocked senseless by one. Right?<p>

...Oh, he was so screwed if Halt ever found out.

And that's why only one person understood how someone, or something, was apparently teleporting through walls, floors, and ceilings alike to steal cakes from the castle pantry.

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><p><strong>If you liked this, please review, favorite, or check out my other stories! I focus mainly on One Piece, so if you like nakama, I think you'd like what I have to offer.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed, and have a lovely day.**


	2. Horace's Ballerina

**I have been requested to make another chapter. **

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><p>Horace sat beneath a tree, legs stretched out and arms behind his head. He gave a contented sigh. He'd forgotten how pretty a sunset was.<p>

This was nice. He should do this more often.

Here he was, relaxing. No one was calling after him, wanting him to do this, or fix that. At least, no one he could hear.

Life as the princess's fiancé was not what he'd expected. He had thought, perhaps, that people would be at his beck and call for once, and that he could get a good night's sleep, and he'd do it all in comfort and style.

Not really. It seemed he'd hardly finish one piece of state business before yet another quarrel amongst the Barons occurred. And after soothing ruffled feathers, he'd have to deal with the aftermath quarrels. He'd much rather leave these things to Cassandra, but Duncan had sent her on a diplomatic mission. Oh, how he wished he'd have gone with her! Horace was worried, and Duncan worried too, but...

But that was neither here nor there. Here, it was Horace's time for tranquility. His slice of solitude. His portion of peace.

He stopped that train of thought before it got out of hand.

No, this time was his, whether the castle folk liked it or not. And he was relatively comfortable, which was a plus.

So here he was, watching the sunset in relative freedom as he was not inside the castle walls. He was, in fact, quite a distance away. Oh, he could still see the castle, but he liked to pretend he didn't. And it really wasn't that far a walk back in the dark.

He'd start back as soon as that last... sliver of sun... disappeared. Ah.

Horace stood and stretched. Oh well. Time for tranquility was over and done.

He began to stroll back to the castle, taking his own sweet time in the dusky light.

He was enjoying himself so much that it took a second guttural noise from the strange man to jolt him from his reverie.

"Oh?" Horace turned, and looked at the person he'd just passed on the road. "May I help you?" he asked politely. He was given yet another strange noise in response. Odd. Perhaps he was sick. The fellow kept advancing, making those odd moans. Horace backed up and loosened his sword, which he never went anywhere without, in his sheath. If the man was sick, he did not want to get sick himself.

A stiff wind blew, and Horace, who was downwind of the man, gagged on the sudden foul stench of rotting flesh. "Good lord, man!" he exclaimed, struggling to control his stomach, "What is wrong with you? No, don't even try to answer. It's clear that it's very nasty, and you have obviously not been treated for it, whatever it is. I'll see if I can get a doctor from the castle."

Horace turned with the intent of running to the castle, only to find himself face to face with another person, who, judging by the smell, was suffering from the same disease.

It was then that the stiff wind blew the cloud away from the face of the steadily rising moon, and Horace saw that he was surrounded by creatures, for that was surely what they were.

And not just any creature. He was pretty sure they were zombies.

His heart was seized with fear, but with a warrior's instinct, his fist seized his sword, and his battle lust, having been restrained for so long, was far, far stronger than the fear. He gave a grim little smile, and thought to himself, "Well, it appears Will's been telling the truth all these years. I'll have to have a talk with him about that when I get back."

And he went to work.

His blade swept and leapt and fell like a ballerina clad in steel. Horace led her in his battle-dance, footsteps falling in all the right places, twirling at all the right times. Their movements were beautifully in synch. It was a joy to dance, and enchanting to watch.

Finally, the zombies were gone. All that remained, curiously enough, were chunks of rotten flesh.

Horace's steps came to a stop, and the closing movements, those of cleaning his sword and sheathing it, were taken at a slower tempo.

He sighed, shook his head, and continued on his way back to the castle, whistling a little tune. It wasn't often he got something to tease Will about, but, here it was. Will had told him about zombies with his knees practically knocking together! Admittedly, they'd been young at the time, and yes, Horace had been a little frightened by his own encounter (just a tad, really), but...

Personally, Horace thought this made for a better story than how Will once dueled a skeleton.

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><p>The two figures came out from behind their respective trees, and watched the man walk away from the battle scene.<p>

He'd fought an entire zombie horde without armor, with just an iron sword.

No bows. No arrows. Just an iron sword. Not even boots, for goodness sake!

And he had made it look amazing. Graceful. Beautiful, even.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"We've gotta learn how to do that."

Steve nodded. "Yeah."

"He made our xp levels go up, just by watching him!"

"Yeah."

"I wonder who he was."

"Maybe he's part of the update."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two stood in companionable silence for a moment.

And in ten minutes, it was daytime.

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><p>"Horace! What in the seven hells possessed you to stay out of the castle last night?!"<p>

Horace blinked, very confused. "I didn't. The sun just set."

"Horace, are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, I am perfectly fine. But you'll never guess what I ran into!"

"Zombies? Oh, or maybe a skeleton."

"How did you know?" Horace asked with amazement.

"...Horace, are you absolutely sure you're feeling fine?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Now, about those zombies..."

"Do me a favor and look outside."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Fine. But then you have to listen to my story."

"If you're still up to telling it."

Horace went to the window and pulled open the curtain. Daylight shone into the room. He stared outside onto the bright, shiny day that replaced his very recent night, the pitch black, and apparently short, night he'd just come inside from. Then, he very carefully backed away and closed the curtain. "I think," he said slowly, "I'd like something to drink."

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><p><strong>Heyla! I'll probably put up the chapter with the skelly vs. Will duel in it. Be patient, please.<strong>

**Just remember, if you read, reviewing is appreciated. So is following, favoriting, and checking out my other stories. Thanks!**

**Shout outs:**

**To Guest, the one who asked me to do another chapter! Thanks for that.**

**AN:**

**Nakama, for anyone interested, is a term used in anime, and one that I believe translates to something like "trusted friend" or "trusted companion" or even "trusted team member". Trust is the key word, or that's the impression I've been getting. I didn't look it up, I simply inferred it from the anime. **


	3. Good Night, Skelly!

It was a deep, dark Midsummer's Eve. The moon was overshadowed by wisps of cloud. A cool wind blew from the north, chilling the night. It whispered through the grass and rustled the leaves. The trees creaked quietly to themselves, and a lone wolf howled achingly in the distance. It was an eerie night, to be sure. Yet Will knew all these sounds, and knew them well.

Still, the night was eerie, and full of unexpected and unwanted sounds.

He thought he heard moaning beneath the whispering wind, and hissing lurked on the edge of hearing. There were strange gurgling noises that did not come from the brook, and an odd 'poof' noise whenever the wolf howled. But the most unnatural sound was the clicking and clacking that intertwined with the creak of the trees.

Will had never heard such a sound before. It was as though a wooden clockwork toy had suddenly come to life, and was walking through the trees. Like a toy, but not a toy. For it was menacing. Challenging, even. But whatever it was, it was frightening. And it was headed towards Will.

Will's eyes widened when he realized this, and quickly swarmed up a tree, heart pounding. He perched on a branch, and became one with the tree, moving with its swaying and creaking, allowing the wind to move him with the tree. His eyes, the only things that moved, scanned the ground frantically. Where was it?

A bone white figure stepped into his eyesight, and his heart nearly stopped. It was only his training that kept him from falling off his branch. The creature before him was a skeleton, bone white because it was bone, with a bow in one hand and an arrow in another. Will's heart raced as it looked around. And then, just as it seemed as though it would leave, the skeleton looked straight up, locking eye sockets with him. It had blank holes for eyes, and they revealed no emotion, but its mouth smiled soullessly up at Will. Casually, the skeleton nocked the arrow, and lifted the bow. It was just starting to draw when Will realized that it was about to kill him.

Reacting instinctively, he flipped backwards off the branch, hanging beneath it for a second. In that second, he heard the _zip_ of an arrow go straight through the place his heart had been just milliseconds ago. Wasting no time, for he knew he had precious little, he dropped from the branch. He crashed into the skeleton, and had the satisfaction of hearing the crack of breaking bones. Then he rolled away, freeing his bow from where he had strung it and grabbing an arrow from his quiver in one neat movement. The skeleton paid no mind to its broken bones, and was about to loose another shaft. Will saw this, and leaped to the side, drawing as he did so. The skeleton didn't bother correcting its aim, and shot the arrow into empty space. Will thought it was moving as though it had all the time in the world, carefully choosing an arrow to nock, and not paying attention to Will beyond the type of attention an archer gives his practice target. Will was not about to ignore this rookie mistake, and took vindictive glee in getting off a few shots of his own. He nocked, and fired off three consecutive arrows. Each one found its mark. The skeleton was unperturbed by the two headshots and single shot to the ribs, and went to fire yet another arrow. This time, though, Will fired first, and much to his surprise, the skeleton fell over and crumbled, leaving only a few bones, some arrows, and a bow behind. Will pondered this for a second before coming to an important conclusion. "Never," he said decisively, "Doubt the power of an arrow to the knee."

For indeed, that was where his last shot had landed.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it.<strong>

**If you want another few chapters, don't hesitate to ask. I'm willing to write more.**

**-D. Runes**


	4. Enter the Garbled Explanation!

Enter the Garbled Explanation!

"…and that's what happened." Will leaned back against the tree and looked at Malcolm.

"What do you think made the skeleton walk? Made the zombies come back to life? What could possibly have done this?" he asked after a long silence. Malcolm stared into the fire. "There are a great many things that cannot be explained with science, even as there are a great many things that can be," he said slowly, "And this may very well be one of them." Will sighed. "I know," he said, "But I thought that just maybe it was a trick, like your lights. Like the voices in the trees." Malcolm shook his head. "Not this time, Will. Not this time." Will shifted so he could look at the smaller man better. He asked, "So there is no explanation for my walking skeleton? Or Horace's walking dead? None at all?" Malcolm looked him in the eyes. "No, Will. None at all."

The two men sat side by side, gazing into the flames. After a time, Malcolm glanced around. "Where is Horace, anyway?" he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Will gestured off towards the castle. "Probably off doing kingly duties. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be by soon. After all, you came all the way out here to visit." Malcolm straightened up. "That reminds me," he said, "Why are we not at the castle being royally feasted?" Will fidgeted and gazed off into the dark woods in embarrassment. "Well," he said, "I thought this would be the perfect way for us to catch up. Sit underneath some nice trees. Toast bread. That sort of thing. But if you want to go feast, we can go feast." Malcolm smiled gently. "I didn't come for a visit so I could eat a feast, Will," he said. "I came to spend time with good friends after a journey south. And this," he gestured to the campsite, and the cabin behind them, "Is perfect." Will grinned. "Glad you think so," he said cheerfully. "And look! Here comes Horace." Horace strode into the clearing with a large grin on his face and some bread in his hand. "Hello, Malcolm! Good to see you," he said. Malcolm rose to his feet. "Horace, how are you?" he asked, and they shook hands. "Fine, just fine," Horace replied, "So did Will tell you about the odd things that we've been coming across lately?" Malcolm caught the excited tone in Horace's voice, and laughed. "Yes, Horace, he did. I'm afraid I don't know what caused them," he said. Horace nodded. "It's okay. She said you probably wouldn't." Will straightened up from where he had been slouching. "She? Eval- I mean, Cassandra?" he asked. Horace smiled. "Nope," he said, "She did." He jabbed his thumb back towards the way he'd come. And into the firelight strode a lady in glowing armor. She looked around at Malcolm and Will, and nodded to them before turning to Horace and saying, "Hey! I thought you were going to give me a better introduction than that! Something like, 'And now, I have the honor of presenting the beautiful, glorious, enchanting, amazing, awesome…" Horace snorted, and said, "If I said all that, and whatever else you were going to tack on, we'd be here all night and I would have passed out ten times for lack of breath." The woman frowned. "You would not have," she said indignantly. "You're right," Horace replied with a grin. "Silly me. I would have passed out fifty times." He ignored her sputtering protests and said to Will and Malcolm, "I met her in the woods on my way here. Well, she kind of ambushed me. Really took me by surprise too. She said, 'Hello, kingly man! I heard you fought off a horde of zombies and survived. Good job for a noob! My name's Katy, and I know all about you and your friend, and your problems with mobs. That is, strange creatures. I know what's been causing these strange events. Take me to your friend, and I'll explain.' " Katy nodded. "Yup! That about sums it up. But it's _n00b_, not _noob_," she said confidently. Will, who had been scrutinizing her closely ever since she entered the clearing, gave a start of recognition. "I know you," he said. "You're that person who took down the tall scary black thing that went poof a few years ago!" Katy looked at him closely, and he realized what he'd said. "Er, the creature with the power of teleportation," he revised. Horace snickered, and said, "I like 'poof' better." Will gave him a look. "What? I do!" Horace said defensively. Will snorted before turning back to Katy, who was having a hard time containing her laughter. Will stared pointedly at her. Katy noticed his stern gaze and sat down with a controlled sigh that contained the barest whisper of a laugh. "Well, then. I suppose you ought to know what's happening, give that it's happening in your kingdom. Sorry about that, by the way."

She noticed their eyes widen when she said that, and immediately responded to their unspoken question. "Oh, no. I wasn't apologizing for something I did. Well, sort of. It wasn't something I did. See, my friend did something that confused someone, who then went off and did something idiotic, which ticked off someone else, who is really powerful and kind of evil, and then this someone else did something incredibly stupid and dangerous and, yeah, kind of evil, and then one thing led to another, and bam! You've got mobs walking through portals! Withers in the Overworld! Chickens underground! Pigs in the Nether! Witches in the Aether! Complete and utter mayhem! And then... Oh, right. That's where I come in. See, I did something, which triggered something else, which caused someone insanely evil and legendarily dangerous, and I mean, hey, that's a whole lot of dangerous, incredibly ticked. I didn't want to die again, because I'd just managed to replace the gear I lost last time. Stupid lava! Anyway, so I spoke to the witch doctor, and this is what he said to me, only I'm not allowed to repeat it, because if I say anything about it, something unspeakably horrible will happen to me. And then, another thing led to yet another thing, and hey, presto! Here I am!"

A long silence greeted her rapid explanation. Katy beamed. "Fantastic story, isn't it? I mean, the whole bit about the portals. Yow, but that was some scary stuff, guys. Scaaaary stuff." Will was carefully pulling his thoughts together. "Would you mind running through that again, Ms. Katy? I'm afraid we didn't catch all of that." Katy smiled widely. It was clear she loved an audience. "Sure thing, Mr. Ranger!" She was rising to her feet with the intent of acting out the story when she froze, looking out into the forest. Her face turned pale, and without another word she raced from the clearing. She made no sound in her retreat, but the three men could still hear a slight stirring in the forest behind them. Will shot to his feet and turned, but he saw nothing but the white light of the moon on the water. Wait. His brow furrowed. No. That… that wasn't right. That wasn't right at all. The water… the ocean was the other way. So what were those strange, eerie pools of moonlight in the air? Will blinked, thinking that perhaps his eyes were blinded from the fire. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, the twin pools were gone. Right. Okay. His eyes were just dazzled by the glare from the fire. Nothing else. Nothing stranger than that.

Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. And the source of that wrongness had stood not fifty meters from their fire, and had watched them with cold, dead white eyes.

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><p><strong>And we're back, folks. I apologize for the long delay, but don't worry, my silence will not be long between the next few chapters! When I got the first request for another chapter, I immediately began planning for a story that would take two chapters to cover. For my new readers, you may have already known, but my custom is to respond to every request for another chapter with two chapters! Sadly, due to my negligence in posting (sorry), I have been requested to write more by TWO people. That is TWO requests, and therefore, I must write FOUR chapters! So, this is the beginning of my four chapter explanation into why Minecraft mobs are wandering the world of Ranger's Apprentice. May you enjoy it.<strong>

**-Dwarven Runes**


	5. Katy the Headache

A Headache Named Katy

"All right. What now?" Horace asked.

Will stood and sighed. "Now we wait. She'll wake up soon enough," he replied, and tugged the blanket further over the slumbering Katy. It had been about a week since Katy ran away from the fire that night. Will and Horace had tried to chase her, but had wound up losing her. Will was astounded. He was a Ranger, trained to track, but even to his skilled eyes her trail had vanished. So with the trail dead, or nonexistent as it were, they had nothing better to do than ask around. No one had seen nor heard anything of the girl. At least, not until yesterday, when Will found her near his cabin. She'd been severely wounded, and was unconscious. He'd brought her inside his cabin, and treated her wounds himself. A full day had passed since he found her, but she was still asleep. He suspected the head injury was the cause of her prolonged slumber.

Will looked over at Horace, who had come as soon as Will's message reached the castle. Horace noticed his solemn look, and said, "I could have the castle doctor come down here to take a look at her."

Will considered the idea. "If she's not awake by tomorrow, then we should do that," he decided. After all, she did have important information they needed to keep the kingdom safe.

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><p>"Yo! Hey! Ranger man! Wake up!"<p>

Will opened his eyes with a snap and lurched upwards. "What?" he asked confusedly, looking around. This was not his room.

"I'm hungry. Get me something to eat, would ya?"

He placed the voice and laughed, turning around to face the girl. He had come in to check on her late last night, or perhaps it was early this morning, and had been so tired that he had sunk into the chair by the bed with the intent of resting for a bit. He had fallen asleep. "You're awake, are you? What was your name again? Katy?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's my name. Now, Mr. Will, can I have some bread or something? Kind of hungry here," Katy said chirpily. Her stomach growled, and she clutched it. "Ooo, so hungry! Must… eat… food…" she groaned dramatically, and held her hands out piteously.

Will laughed. "Yeah, you must be hungry. You've been sleeping since I found you, so I've been trying to feed you soup in your sleep. Guess how well that turned out?" he said with a grin.

Katy grinned back and rubbed sheepishly at the back of her neck, wincing when she brushed a scratch. "Gee, sorry, Mr. Will. I don't really like soup. But, if you have some bread, I'll gladly eat that!" Will nodded, and went into the kitchen, returning with a loaf of bread. Katy hummed, and took it. She examined it critically before wolfing it down. "Uh huh, that's good stuff!" she exclaimed happily. Then she looked around for a second before jumping out of bed and waltzing out of the room.

"Hey!" Will shouted in surprise. He was greatly alarmed by this behavior, and followed her as she went through the living room and into the kitchen. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked as she looked around the kitchen in curiosity. It was almost like she'd never seen a cabinet before. "Getting more food," Katy said, "What does it look like?"

Will groaned. "Doesn't it hurt to move around like that?" he asked, trying to get her to think about the pain she was in so she would stop moving. She had been unconscious until just this morning, for goodness sake! She needed more rest.

Katy pondered that for a second. "No. Well, yes, but it's not like it's going to do anything to me," she said dismissively.

Will looked at her in disbelief. "Look, you need to stay in bed. You'll tear your wounds, or start bleeding again, or something. You're critically injured. Now go back to bed," he said in exasperation, and grabbed her arm gently.

Katy stared at him with a serious face. "I need more food," she said, as though it were an explanation. "So," she continued with a somehow deadly voice, "Let me go, and let me eat."

Will snorted, but obliged her. It was her choice. "You're lucky I'm not a doctor. A doctor would never have let you do this," he observed, folding his arms and leaning against the doorjamb. Katy snorted and began to open and close the cabinets, finally stumbling upon the bread box with an elated 'Aha!' "That enough for you, Ms. Katy?" Will asked sarcastically as she pulled out every single loaf he had and placed them on a plate.

Katy rolled her eyes at him as she began to stuff her face. "Whatever. I'm hungry! And it's just Katy," she said through a mouthful of food.

Will was amused. "And I'm just Will," he replied. He watched her eat her way through a loaf. Well, she seemed to be doing fine. He could probably get some chores done while she ate her way through that mountain of food. He pushed off the doorjamb after a bit, saying, "Don't eat too much. I'm going to go get some water, and when I get back, you're going to finish eating, go back to bed, and tell me how you were injured." Katy grunted in acknowledgement, waving as he left the room.

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><p>Will came back a little later to find the kitchen empty. Oh bother. Where was she? "Katy? Where are you?" he called, suddenly concerned.<p>

Katy stuck her head into the kitchen from the living room. "In here. Why?" she replied.

Will strode over to her. "I thought I told you to stay put," he said angrily.

She blinked. "No, you didn't," she said in confusion. "Besides," she added, "My health bar is all the way back up, and my hunger bar is full. I'm good, man. See? All healed up and ready to go." She showed him her arm. He stared at it in shock. There was no bandage there. No wound either.

"But, but, but," he stammered, "It was bleeding!"

Katy laughed. "Oh! Silly me. I forgot to tell you. In my world, people eat to heal up," she said, and beamed.

Will looked at her in bemusement. "They do that here too. They also drink lots of water and get lots of rest. Then they get well," he said.

Katy shook her head. "No, Will, I don't think you've quite got it. We eat. The food heals us. Healing takes energy, causing hunger. You can't heal unless you have a certain amount of food in your body," she explained in a patronizing tone.

Will ignored the tone. "So have all your wounds healed up?" he asked, vaguely motioning towards the parts of her body that had been injured. She nodded happily. Will struggled with this for a moment, unsure of what to say. He settled on, "Well, that explains the distinct lack of food around here."

Katy grinned, and said, "Yup! So, thanks for feeding me!" That startled a laugh out of Will before he gave her a serious look. "All right. You're fed, you've healed, now tell me how you got injured and why you ran away last week," he said.

"Hey! That last part wasn't on the list of things I had to do when you got back," she said jokily. Will raised his eyebrow. Katy stared at him. He stared back. "…Fine! Fine! I ran away because I had something to do, okay? Look, I wrote it all down for you. The paper's in there. Just go read it. I'll be in here, eating some more food. Off you go," she said hastily, and shoved him out of the kitchen and into his living room, closing the door behind him.

Will stood stock still in shock for a moment before shaking his head. "She's a strange one," he murmured, but looked around for the paper he'd been promised. "Katy, where is it? I'm not seeing it," he said after peering around. No response. "Katy," he said louder. Still nothing. "Katy!" he flung open the door to the kitchen, and found a piece of paper waiting for him on the counter, and no sign of Katy. He groaned and sunk into a chair. She was gone. There was no way he'd be able to catch up with her, or track her for that matter. She had a head start, Tug was unsaddled, and she could apparently leave no trace. Nope. After a few moments of mentally smacking his forehead for leaving her alone, he grabbed the note and looked at it.

'Hiya, Will! Thanks for taking care of me and feeding me and stuff. I guess I owe you one. But since I have somewhere to be, I'll pay you back later, okay? Unless I die, of course, but that's really hard to do, lol! Well, I guess I should give you something anyway. So, here are your instructions. Go talk to the witch doctor. He knows more than he says. Then, go out on the plains. There's a rock formation out there, made of this black stone that my folk call obsidian. I don't know what you would call it. Anyhoo, I'll meet you there in a few days. I'll wait for you if I have to. But don't keep me waiting too long! Jk! Btw, don't think you can skip talking to the witch doctor. He's the only one I know that you know who happens to know where the formation is. Oh, and bring your flint and steel. I don't have my own. The fellow who attacked me took it. That meanie! Anyway, thanks again! See you in a few days! I'm not gonna sign this, 'cause you already know who it's from. And btw, if you're wondering why I'm not just writing down everything you want to know, it's because you never know whose eyes those are.'

Will looked up, disturbed. "Whose eyes those are," he murmured. The phrase sent chills down his spine. It had to be a clue. But who was this witch doctor? Wait… Malcolm? Did she mean _Malcolm_? But it was Malcolm! Malcolm, plain old magnificent Malcolm who used trickery, not magic, and who had helped him, Horace, and Alyss, and saved Halt's life.

And why was he listening to her in the first place? Who was she to insinuate that Malcolm had something to do with this? She just came out of nowhere, and… Oh, right. She was the only clue he had to work with in this mystery of zombies and skeletons and glowing white eyes. Right, right…

Will sighed, and rose. "Better go get Horace." Horace probably wanted in on this.

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><p><strong>Sorry for the long radio silence. I have no excuse. Please accept my humble apologies.<strong>

- **D. Runes**


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